parliament

Constituency Question: Solar Homes

April 30, 2019

Ms SPENCE (Yuroke) (16:09:24): (494) My constituency question is to the Minister for Solar Homes: what information can the minister provide regarding the uptake of the Andrews Labor government’s solar rebates for the Yuroke electorate? Many Yuroke residents have expressed a strong interest in the initial rollout of the government’s solar homes initiative, with my office having received a huge number of calls from residents wanting to know more about how they can access this fantastic program and save hundreds of dollars on their electricity bills. With applications for this financial year now closed, I look forward to hearing from the minister and encouraging even more local families to take advantage of this scheme, particularly with the introduction of interest-free loans, solar for renters and half-price batteries from 1 July.

Response:

The Victorian Government’s landmark Solar Homes Package is delivering clear benefits to Victorian households, including people in the electorate of Yuroke.

The $1.3 billion, 10 year program is investing in our energy future and helping Victorians with a household income of up to $180,000 who live in their own home valued at up to $3-million to take control of their energy bills.

We have had tremendous interest in the program already, with more than 32,000 people across Victoria, including 1,036 from the Yuroke electorate, who have already applied to participate in the program. Of these, 514 rebates have been paid, an amount of around $1.1 million. This represents an annual saving on electricity bills of approximately $458,000 for household in the electorate of Yuroke.

We have already paid almost 15,500 rebates (as of 20 May 2019) to people who have invested in their solar future. That’s more than $34.4 million.

The second phase of program will begin on 1 July 2019 – bigger and better than ever – offering Victorians even more rebates for solar panels or solar hot water. This will also mark the start of our no-interest loans offer, which will allow households to install solar with no upfront costs, as well as solar panels for 50,000 rental properties and 10,000 solar batteries.

A new Solar Victoria Portal will provide a one-stop portal for consumers, retailers and installers to easily manage eligibility and rebate claims.

Solar Homes is a tremendously popular program and will be of great value to the residents of Yuroke and right across the state.